Hate You More
by FidgetGlitterBlossom
Summary: Cedric never gives up on becoming King, and Sofia keeps trying to stop him. Somewhere along the way, they fall in love, but their conflict complicates their relationship. Neither one of them knows how to end the destructive cycle, and it's likely they wouldn't even if they could. Oneshot. Songfic. Rated M for mature themes and violence. Dark Cedfia. Adult!SofiaxCedric


_Every time I end up breaking you_

 _You change into something worth keeping_

Cedric stood over Sofia, letting an evil chuckle slip out.

"What's it going to be, princess?" He demanded, nodding at the clock behind him. She stared up at him defiantly, and it was clear from her red-rimmed eyes that she had been sobbing, though she would never give him the satisfaction of doing so in his presence. He did his best to ignore how beautiful she had grown in the decade since they first met, though he thought about it day and night.

"Tick.. Tock.. Tick.. Tock.." He whispered, advancing toward the young woman until his face was mere inches from hers. Sofia held perfectly, suspiciously still.

"Tick..." He hissed, his lips practically touching hers, the breath he let out tickling her as she spoke. Sofia grinned. With her arms and legs tied, she didn't have many options for retaliation, but he had just handed her a way to get some of her own back. She parted her lips and let out a breathy sigh, knowing the sorcerer wouldn't resist the temptation she was offering him.

His lips crashed against hers, and for a minute the kiss was true and passionate. Then, Sofia pulled back from it slightly, enticing Cedric to follow. When he did, she bit down as hard as she could on his bottom lip, ignoring the metallic taste of blood spilling into her mouth. A tight hand to her throat stopped her once Cedric recovered from his shock, but the damage was already done.

"You shouldn't have done that, Sofia." He growled out at her, pressing his free hand to his injury. Instead of a response, she spit his blood into his face.

"Fine. You wanna play? We'll play." He threatened, storming out of the room.

 _Every time I'm close to saving you_

 _You grow into a sin worth believing_

"Stay away from my princess!" Cedric called out, raising his family wand high in the air and pointing it at Grimtrix.

"How well do you trust your aim, Cedric?" The evil sorcerer asked, tightening his chokehold on Sofia and shifting her so even more of her body shielded him from Cedric's aim.

"Do it, Cedric." Sofia cried out, her voice forced due to the pressure being applied to her throat by the older man's arm.

"Sofia, I-" Cedric wanted to tell her, he had to. It might be his last chance to say the words, and yet he faltered.

"Me, too. Take the damn shot!" She managed. Magic began to sizzle on the tip of Cedric's wand as he spoke the spell. As lightning shot towards Grimtrix and Sofia, he shut his eyes tight.

Grimtrix screamed, then everything went silent. Cedric suddenly became aware of soft lips pressed hard against his, and opened his eyes in shock. He pulled back just enough to speak.

"How did you...?" He didn't finish the question before her lips claimed his again, and he felt her hands begin to fumble with his belt.

"Later." She insisted, dropping down to her knees in front of him, not one bit interested in conversation right now.

 _You're everything I ever wanted, but_

 _It's never enough, you're never enough_

Cedric watched Sofia pace the stone floor of the workshop frantically, stopping only to shoot him death stares every few minutes.

"What do you want me to do, Sofia?" He pleaded, wanting nothing more than to pull her into a tight embrace, but knowing perfectly well that she was in no mood to be touched right now.

"I want you to give up. We could have a life together, Cedric. We could be happy!" She stopped to look at him now, fixing him in place with those fantastic azure eyes.

"I could never be happy." He answered simply, knowing that the words would tear into her, but finding it impossible to lie to Sofia in that moment.

"You're going to lose me. I will walk away from this forever." She threatened, using everything within her to keep the quiver out of her voice.

"I don't want that." Cedric answered quietly, avoiding the intensity of her gaze.

"What do you want, Cedric?" She demanded, sounding so very tired to the sorcerer's trained ear.

"Everything." His voice came as nearly a whisper. Without a word, she turned and marched out of the tower.

 _I'll take whatever I can take_

 _Whenever I can take it, if it ever comes_

Cedric lived for the stolen moments, a brush of their hands during a magic performance, Sofia tugging him into an alcove for a quick kiss before running off again, her secret smiles that she reserved only for her sorcerer.

These things fed his very soul. A taste, a touch, even a quick sniff of her hair as he passed her. He knew Sofia felt the same way, and that made these incidents all the more precious to him. Sofia loved him, him of all people. He had no idea why, and he certainly didn't deserve such happiness, but there it was, and he would revel in it until the complex relationship inevitability destroyed them both.

 _I hate you when you're gone_

 _I hate you turn me on_

"Never do that to me again." He commanded her, eyes narrowed as he watched her approach. He had every right to be furious with her. She hadn't so much as looked at him in six months. Yes, he deserved such treatment, but it was torture, and he was seething over it.

He would turn her away. No way would he be dragged back into hell with her. No way would she... He lifted his arms to aid her as she pulled off his tunic, his eyes half lidded as she threw the garment carelessly to the floor and dragged her nails along the outlines of his black tattoos, careful to not scratch hard enough to actually hurt him, just turn him on.

"I hate that I love you." She whispered, and Cedric nodded, all too familiar with the sentiment. He backed her toward the wall, pinning her against the cold, grey stone and wrapping her legs around his waist.

 _I hate the way I need you when I don't know where you are_

"Where were you?" Sofia inquired, her body slumping against his as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I went out." He answered, greatful that this position spared him from seeing the accusation in her hypnotic eyes.

"For a week? I was worried sick." She confided, her words warming Cedric as much as the heat of her body, clad in nothing more than a silk nightgown.

"I needed to clear my head, pet." He answered, brushing his lips against her soft, russet hair. He readjusted so he could lift her, and carried her back to his bed.

"Let me know where you are next time." She said, her eyes begging him to agree.

"Of course, love." He lied, bringing his lips down to kiss Sofia tenderly.

 _I love it even more when I find you on the floor_

 _I know you think you hate me, but I will always hate you more!_

"Sofia's collapsed." Baileywick shouted into the hallway, trying to alert anyone within hearing distance. Cedric was the first on the scene, shoving his way past the steward to rush into the room.

The princess was on the marble floor, hair fanned out around her like a rusted halo, her alabaster skin even paler that usual.

He thought back to their last confrontation. They'd done a lot of damage to each other, and his heart raced at the thought that he may have inadvertently caused this. It was easy to forget that such a worthy adversary was anything short of immortal, especially in the heat of the moment when she was using her wand to throw anything that wasn't bolted down directly at his head.

"Sofia... Wake up!" He commanded her, lifting her enough to shake her hard, despite Baileywick's fretting that she shouldn't be moved until the physician arrived. The steward hurried from the room to get help, leaving Sofia in Cedric's care.

"Cedric?" Came her thin voice, her hand lifting to cup his cheek. He swallowed hard and nodded his head.

Her hand pulled back and slapped him hard.

"I hate you!" She bit out, grasping the amulet around his neck with her other hand and pulling hard, the chain biting into his neck before giving in to the force and snapping. She clutched it in her hand as Cedric laughed, too relieved that she was awake to be bothered by anything she said or did. He pressed his thin lips lightly to her forehead.

"Me, too, Sofia. Me, too." He replied.

 _I never knew until I got a taste_

 _What a waste, for what I have been through_

"I give up." He stated, entering her chambers with his hands held up in mock surrender. She eyed him suspiciously, knowing much better than to take his word on anything anymore.

"I'm in no mood for your games, Cedric." She informed him, keeping her voice low as she allowed him to approach the bed.

"I'm serious." He answered, dropping to his knees at her feet and resting his head in her lap. She ran her fingers through his thick black hair, and he let out a slight 'hmm' as the sensation of her touch thrilled him.

"Why?" She breathed after a long silence. He turned just enough to gaze lovingly at the one thing in the world that mattered above all else, no matter how blind he was to that fact at times.

"You're in my head. You swim through my veins, Sofia. I close my eyes, and you're the only thing I see. How can I go on fighting that when all I want to do is give in?" He confessed, nerves on fire as he waited for her to respond. She tugged at his arms, urging him upwards onto the bed. He chuckled as he lifted her skirts, amused to find her bare beneath, ready for him.

"I love you, Sofia." He whispered as he slid himself inside of her, realizing he'd lost count of how many times they'd been together, now.

"I love you, too." She replied, smiling up at her sorcerer before her eyes slipped closed, and she began to chant his name.

 _Cause nothing ever really makes that change_

 _I'm so ashamed, of what I did to you_

"How could you?" Sofia demanded, doing her best to ignore the chaos that surrounded her and focus on the man standing in front of her, practically glowing with power. He did his best to keep the smile off of his face, not because he had nearly won this round, but because his princess refused to be intimidated even when magic was rolling off of him in waves. He admired that strength more than she would ever know.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." He answered her, stepping forward to cup her cheek.

"You're sorry? Look around you, Cedric. You really think sorry covers this?" She demanded, doing her best to dodge his touch.

"I'm not sorry about that. I'm sorry that I hurt you." It was the truth. He would do anything for power, but the fact that every attempt ended up harming his princess in one way or another was almost enough to make him stop. Almost.

The disapproval in Sofia's bright eyes was withering, and the image remained burned into his mind long after she transported herself away, leaving him to wonder how long she'd be gone this time.


End file.
